A special appearance at Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers is the internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, whose works in diverse fine arts media from painting and sculpture to commercial media such as fashion, merchandise, and animation. Known for blurring the line between high and low arts, he coined the term ‘superflat’, which describes both the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of post-war Japanese culture and society. Superflat is also used as a moniker to describe Murakami’s own artistic style and that of other Japanese artists he has influenced. He founded Kaikai Kiki Co in 2001 - an enterprise that invests in the production and promotion of artwork, the management and support of select young artists, general management of events and projects, and the production and promotion of merchandise - based in Tokyo Long and New York. Kaikai Kiki is the first Japanese company looking to the future to develop and promote state-of-the-art contemporary artworks. His educational background includes a B.F.A. (1986), M.F.A. (1988) and Ph.D. (1993) from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.